Vol. 491 No. 7
6 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Defence the discussions, if any, he has had with the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources in relation to the locating of the marine rescue service for the east coast at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, County Dublin. [9286/98]
16 Mr. Boylan asked the Minister for Defence if he will give details of the staff shortages in the east coast search and rescue service and the recent withdrawal of service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12943/98]
30 Mr. Bradford asked the Minister for Defence if he will give details of the staff shortages in the east coast search and rescue service and the recent withdrawal of service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12944/98]
39 Mr. Boylan asked the Minister for Defence if he will give details of the staff shortages in the east coast search and rescue service and the recent withdrawal of service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12942/98]
46 Mr. Shatter r asked the Minister for Defence the steps, if any, he will take to ensure that the Air Corps has sufficient personnel to staff marine rescue services; the position on the development of the east coast rescue service and the new services being developed in the Navy in association with the Department of Marine and Natural Resources to protect our fisheries. [9041/98]
68 Mr. Barrett asked the Minister for Defence if he will give details of the staff shortages in the east coast search and rescue service and the recent withdrawal of service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12941/98]
72 Mr. G. Reynolds asked the Minister for Defence his views on whether private companies or the Air Corps should staff the marine rescue service in this country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9047/98]
77 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Defence if he will give details of the staff shortages in the east coast search and rescue service and the recent withdrawal of service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12940/98]
89 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Defence the discussions, if any, he has had with the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources in relation to the locating of the marine rescue service for the east coast at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, County Dublin. [9285/98]
112 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Defence if he will outline the staff shortages in the east coast search and rescue service and the recent withdrawal of service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13169/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 6, 16, 30, 39, 46, 68, 72, 77, 89 and 112 together.
The Irish Marine Emergency Service, IMES, of the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources has overall responsibility for the provision of a marine search and rescue service in Ireland. Search and rescue coverage on the east coast is provided by the Air Corps from Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, using an Alouette III helicopter and crew of three, for daylight search and rescue operations. The response time is 15 minutes from receipt of call. Since 22 December 1996, a Dauphin helicopter and crew of four based at Baldonnel has been committed to night search and rescue operations to cover the east coast. The response time from receipt of call is 45 minutes by night. There is also an Air Corps operated search and rescue service located at Finner Camp, County Donegal on 24 hour call.
As part of an ongoing programme of development of search and rescue services in this country, a civilian operated medium load carrying search and rescue helicopter will be provided on the east coast with effect from 1 July 1998. It had been intended that the service would be crewed by Air Corps personnel and would operate from Casement Aerodrome once certain legal difficulties concerning the question of the basing of a civil operation at a military air base had been resolved. This latter element is being pursued with the Department of Public Enterprise and the Irish Aviation Authority. The recent high incidence of retirement of Air Corps flying officers has, however, meant that the Air Corps is currently not in a position to provide pilots for the new east coast service. Provision is, however, being made in the contract for the provision of the civilian operated service for the introduction of Air Corps crew at a future date. It has been decided that the service will operate initially from Dublin Airport with the option of relocating to Baldonnel at a future date.
In tandem with the commencement of the new service on the east coast with effect from 1 July 1998, the search and rescue service currently provided by the Air Corps at Baldonnel will be relocated to the south east coast. This service, which will initially be restricted to daylight hours, utilising an Alouette helicopter, will be based in Waterford. It is intended to upgrade this service to a 24 hour one using a Dauphin helicopter at the earliest possible date.
With regard to the search and rescue service currently provided from Baldonnel, there has been no curtailment of service in recent times due to a lack of flying officers. However, due to unforeseen shortages of winch crew, caused by departures to civilian employment, illness and leave, the east coast service was curtailed on eight occasions between April 13 and April 24, 1998. The IMES was kept informed of the position at all times in order that cover might be provided from other sources such as the Shannon based marine emergency helicopter service.
Because of the current upturn in the civil aviation industry and resulting attractive financial packages available, the number of Air Corps pilots seeking to retire has risen considerably in recent times and, as I mentioned earlier, this impacted on the ability of the Air Corps to provide pilots for the new east coast service. As a result of prevailing market forces, I introduced a service commitment scheme for Air Corps pilots last year. This scheme, with the ongoing training of pilots and winch crews as well as the annual recruitment of Air Corps cadets, is intended to ensure a continuing supply of well trained air crew for the Air Corps search and rescue service.
I wish to refer to the review of the Air Corps which was recently carried out by Price Waterhouse management consultants. Their report is being considered by the efficiency audit group and it is expected that proposals will be brought to Government in the near future. It is not possible to say at this stage what impact the review will have on the staffing and funding of the Air Corps.
With regard to the question of the protection of our fisheries, I presume that the reference is to the recent allegations of harassment of Irish fishing vessels off the south west coast. In this regard my colleague the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources and I recently discussed putting in place new arrangements to ensure a swift response to such incidents. I will also be dealing with this matter in my reply to Question No. 75 tabled by Deputy McGrath.
I refer to the move from Baldonnel to Dublin airport to provide this service. What are the reasons for that? It is a bad precedent to move the service from Baldonnel where the Air Corps is based and which has given 30 years' service to search and rescue. Why did it have to move to Dublin Airport? Does the Minister accept there has been a failure to invest in equipment and personnel? Will he consider investing in aircraft for the Air Corps so that it can take back this work from the private company contracted to do it over the next three years? It is a catch 22 because pilots are leaving while, on the other hand, there has been no investment in personnel and equipment to encourage pilots to stay and believe in the future of the Air Corps.
That is the challenge faced by the Minister and in that context could legislation have been introduced, for example, to ensure civilian aircraft could use Baldonnel? Why were the aeroplanes not registered as military aircraft? Would that have been another way out of this problem? Did the Minister make efforts to ensure the service remained in Baldonnel with the Air Corps providing it as opposed to the move to a private company?
There are a number of constraints. I am not the only Minister responsible for matters pertaining to Baldonnel and aircraft activity. Obviously, the Minister for Public Enterprise is also involved. Discussions are taking place between the two Departments on how soon the service could be facilitated at Baldonnel Aerodrome and I will welcome that development the day it is achieved.
It is not true that the problem is caused by the purchase of additional aircraft. We had problems in having sufficient numbers of qualified and senior pilots to fly the aircraft we have. The east coast service is provided by the Air Corps. Because we are also obliged to provide an all year round day and night emergency service throughout the coastline the move to Waterford has required the numbers we have to transfer there and we are trying to provide accommodation for them at that facility. It was a reluctant decision to divide in a circumstance where we were not able to fulfil all our commitments from our own resources in the Air Corps and a civilian requirement developed. I will work in conjunction with my colleague to get around the problems that surround the question of moving civilian aircraft in a military zone. As soon as this can be resolved, the question of relocating back to Baldonnel will be considered.
The Deputy raised a deeper question in regard to the purchase of aircraft. Significant recommendations will emerge in the review of the Air Corps about the provision of funds for upgrading aircraft and the purchase of new aircraft which must be considered in the context of the resources available over the longer term.
My worry is that by the time the Price Waterhouse report is published on the future of the Air Corps, it will have suffered such terminal problems the Minister will not be in a position to implement its recommendations. When will he publish the report? The Air Corps is under pressure in all its services. It is struggling to meet its commitment on fishery protection and service to Government. The service has been suspended on eight occasions in recent weeks. It is a crisis for the Air Corps. What action is the Minister taking or is he presiding over the decline and death of the Air Corps?
A total of 990 personnel are employed in Baldonnel. It is a significant industry, with highly trained, qualified people dedicated to staying on and working with us into the future. There are a number of training schemes in place. We need to increase the number of winch crews and examination of how that will be achieved is under way. The review is with the efficiency audit group and will be published later this month. I am anxious to see it published and discussed. There is no need for people to be downhearted as everything possible is being done. We have a service commitment scheme to retain pilots and almost 1,000 are working actively on different operations. There are 84 pilots with seven new cadets joining this month.
With regard to the Deputy's inference with regard to the Navy, she will be aware that in 1996 there were 20 new recruits with 80 in 1997 and at least 50 this year. At the same time people are leaving because many attractive opportunities are being taken up. It is a sign of the times that people have options that they never had before to take up different occupations. We should not deny that these have created pressures for us but we are working as hard as we can to overcome the difficulties and maintain the emergency services to the extent we can. Where we are not able to do so we are calling on civilian operations and if we are ultimately able to man them we hope to take control of them in due course.
Could the Minister confirm that he is restating his commitment to put the Air Corps's house in order? Some privately owned executive aircraft use Baldonnel on an ad hoc basis, upon the payment of a fee and the production of the necessary insurance indemnity. The Minister's immediate predecessor, Deputy Andrews, stated last October that some small businesses in the area had expressed an interest in using the airport and he did not see any bar to this, providing certain agreements could be put in place. Does the Minister agree with this policy? The former Minister also gave a commitment, in reply to a question from Deputy Deasy, to look at the viability of putting commercial traffic through Baldonnel and to report back to the Deputy. Deputy Andrews may have forgotten about this in his new Department but could the current Minister give a similar commitment? Civilian and military airports operate successfully side by side in other places.
I have had a preliminary opportunity to digest components of that review. I will have the full picture shortly and the review will go to Government and will be published. To my knowledge the review does not touch on the civilianisation of the airport or alternative uses. However, I believe there are opportunities which should at least be examined and considered, in the context of the total resource and having regard to transport and other facilities in that area, including City West and other developments. These are matters which do not lie entirely within the remit of the Minister for Defence — there are questions concerning the overall management of aircraft and civil aviation which must also be decided. I will listen to the views of others and examine proposals to see whether they meet certain criteria and how far they could be progressed. As I said, I can go no further than that but I do not intend to put it completely out of the picture. If we can provide other services, if we can be involved in economic activity and if Air Corps personnel can do a mixture of different activities, we should look at our total resources to see how we can manage them for the benefit of the community. There could be exciting prospects for everyone concerned in the development of proposals of that kind.
Arising from the lack of training for Air Corps personnel, I have asked the Minister on previous occasions whether his Department has sought to train new recruits overseas to supplement training at home. Has progress been made in that regard or can the Minister inform the House whether he intends in the short term to put in place such a plan?
As the Deputy will know, some training exercises are already carried out in France and other parts of Europe. The position is so serious, in terms of the number of pilots leaving, that we must consider not only the options outlined by Deputy Wall but also every possible way to retain the people we have and to encourage others to assist us in manning the operations we must conduct. I am open to any suggestions which can help us get over this difficulty, which has existed for a few years and is being aggravated by the availability of alternative, attractive packages in the civil aviation industry, of a type we had not experienced. I could not ask the taxpayer to continue funding the preparation and training of highly skilled people who will immediately be attracted from the job we want them to do, so we must consider how to approach this problem with a longer-term perspective. We provide many important services and cannot afford the luxury of an expensive training process, skills development, and aircraft training facilities if one third of our pilots either retire or leave for alternative employment within three years, which are the circumstances I have inherited. It is not easy but we must look at every option and I am open to any suggestions made in this House in that regard.
Has the Minister withdrawn the proposal to change the terms of reference for cadets? The Department acted without consultation — the booklet stated the terms of reference for Air Corps cadets were being changed and they would have to stay for a longer period. What is the status of that proposal? I understand the Minister was taking advice from the Attorney General about it.
I am still awaiting that advice. This matter was considered in the context of new cadets going forward for training this year and in future years. It has no impact on the existing pilots and people in the Air Corps and is one way of addressing the serious problem we face in terms of the numbers leaving. There will be plenty of opportunity for discussion and consultation as to how this will pan out, we are not setting anything in stone at this stage. In the context of these proposals and what I have said to the House, we are highlighting our difficulty in keeping people in the Air Corps for a reasonable period, consistent with the costs associated with the training, to enable us to carry out the functions we are asked to perform on behalf of the Government for emergency services, etc.
We cannot have it both ways. We have to address the problem in a sensible, open-minded way, listening to the views of the various associations involved and reaching an agreement which will ultimately enable us to do the job we must do. If we refuse to come forward with new initiatives to help us in this regard, we would not be providing a good service to the people. We recognise the problems which have arisen in the past and have tried to cope with them through service commitments and other means but that does not seem to be enough, so we must further examine how to achieve our end result. Everyone who has an interest in the Air Corps will know we could not continue to lose people in those numbers. We could not run the services which the Deputy wants to return to Baldonnel because we did not have sufficient pilots or winch crews to meet our commitment.
It is striking that there have been two examples in today's questions of a lack of consultation with the people most involved. The Minister stressed the importance of consultation but two key decisions in recent times were made without any consultation. The Air Corps feels it is not being consulted enough about the future of the service and perhaps further consultation would ensure that the solutions needed could be better achieved.
My diary shows that I consult and meet people all the time but it is not possible in all circumstances to hold discussions about everything one does. There is plenty of time and there will be ample opportunity for teasing out these proposals. My experience in other ministries is that when hard decisions have to be taken people are not as amenable to negotiation as on some of the easier issues. Sometimes the difficult decisions to move forward have to be taken in a lonely place. I would welcome people who would come in and consult but I am prepared to take the hard decisions.
Will the Minister give a commitment to redraw the application form for entry to the Defence Forces for cadetship? It is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a 16 or 17 year old to answer the various questions posed and I believe the form is filled in by parents.
Deputy Timmins is a relatively new Member but there is a great deal of parliamentary experience in the Timmins household. He has touched on something which many of us have questioned, not only in the context of cadetship, but in a whole variety of ways. We have a stranglehold on the use of language which is uninviting to many people whereas a simpler approach would suffice. I will see to what extent we can become more modern at the end of this millennium in a way which takes account of the matters raised by the Deputy. I will return to him with a more definite answer later. The present application form stands for this year. The interview process is already under way. I will seek to make changes for the next tranche. I want to make the application form more readable so that the Deputy can enjoy reading it and advise his constituents appropriately.
